Applying geoscience to Australia's most important challenges

Electricity Generation from Geothermal Energy in Australia

Abstract

Educational factsheet summarising geothermal systems (hydrothermal and Hot Rock systems), advantages of geothermal power generation
in Australia, geothermal power generation systems, and future electricity generation in Australia using geothermal energy.
The mini-abstract on the factsheet is as follows:
Geothermal energy is the heat contained within the Earth and it can be used to generate electricity by utilising two main
types of geothermal resources. Hydrothermal resources use naturally-occurring hot water or steam circulating through permeable
rock, and Hot Rock resources produce super-heated water or steam by artificially circulating fluid through the rock. Electricity
generation from geothermal energy in Australia is currently limited to an 80kW net power plant at Birdsville in south west
Queensland. However this is likely to change in the future as Hot Rock power plants become increasingly commercially viable.